Theater guest blog: Our Town

Theater guest blog by Braxton Perry, cast member for Our Town

Hey, my name is Braxton and I’m 17 years old. I love all things that have to do with the performing arts (music, theater and dance thanks to the Patel Conservatory), but this blog isn’t about all of those disciplines (that would take too much space). Each week, I’ll write about my previous week’s adventures during rehearsals for Patel Conservatory Youth Theater’s (PCYT) production of Thornton Wilder’s play, Our Town. (Showing November 17-19, 2011, so don’t forget to buy tickets!)

My first run-in with Patel Conservatory was actually through dance. My sister wanted to take dance with my brother and me. My brother suggested doing tap dancing since he’s had his eye on it for a while. We looked around at different dance studios for a few weeks, until we came across the Patel Conservatory and the tap teacher, Ms. Susan Downey (just a brief side note, Ms. Susan is one of the best teachers in the world, and if you’ve never taken dance, you should try out tap just to have her as your teacher!).

After doing dance for a few months, Ms. Susan encouraged me to also try out in theater. Since it was right after summer, PCYT was just starting placements for Our Town.

It was really interesting going to the musical theater placements. I have to admit, I was pretty scared, but it turned out great. We did everything from singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” to running around a room, and then reading a monologue and acting really angry. The funny thing is I actually got higher marks in both music and theater than I did in dance; and I didn’t even have experience in either of them before that day!

Just last week we started classes for Our Town. Kerry Glamsch is the director. I hope he doesn’t mind, but I thought I’d put a few thoughts on him. To be honest, I couldn’t really see any one else teaching the class and being the director. He’s eccentric in a good way, and totally makes the whole class laugh at any moment.

On Wednesday and Thursday, we read through the entire script and Kerry had us act out different parts. I was nervous since I’ve never acted, but after some time, I felt myself warming up. On Friday, we played some theater exercises that built trust and unity and did some final casting. If you’re wondering, I was cast as Professor Willard and Constable Warren, which aren’t leading roles, but still important and I’m really happy about it.

I’ve only been around Patel Conservatory for a few months, but I’m already having the time of my life and making great friends. Fun stuff, huh?

Don’t forget to check back soon for my next blog about my adventures! If you want to get notified when I post a new blog, all you have to do is “like” Patel Conservatory on Facebook. They post a bunch of other cool things as well.

Things I like:

Being silly

Writing these lists

Doing headstands (Trying)